In some applications of fire protection systems, it is desirable to provide a system that is tamper-proof or difficult to disassemble, such as when a system is installed in a prison, a hospital, or in an institution serving a population that is prone to violence or vandalism. In some applications the piping for the fire protection system is not secured to framing or other rigid structures, or the piping is installed as a retrofit and access to framing and other mounting points is not accessible to secure the piping. In such environments, it is desirable to have a mounting system that secures the pipe relative to the wall through which the sprinkler is disposed, while maintaining an outer surface of the sprinkler that is resistant to vandalism.
A common method for securing an unsecured pipe is to install a tubular spacer over the sprinkler that provides one end that abuts the pipe holding the sprinkler and another end that abuts the wall. However, it is believed that spacers are problematic and not a desirable solution because the spacer is too large to be inserted through the hole of the wall and thus must be installed from the pipe-side of the wall which may not be accessible. Also, it is believed that spacers do not limit the side-to-side movement of the sprinkler and escutcheon, which permits a vandal to slide the sprinkler and escutcheon and gain access to the hole through the wall and damage or disable the fire protection system.